A Linked Account represents a connection between Merge and your customer's (also known as the end-user) platform! For example, if your customer uses ADP as their HR system and you connect their ADP instance to Merge, it's known as a Linked Account.

Merge offers two types of Linked Accounts:

Best used for development of different integrations and not counted towards billing. You can sync data manually via Merge Dashboard to see our normalized response. This is a great way to test an integration before offering it to your customers.

To create a Test Linked Account, navigate to the Linked Accounts section of the Merge Dashboard. Click on Test Linked Accounts > Create Test Linked Account.

Using a Test Access Key once you have Merge Link embedded (learn more) will result in linked accounts being automatically created as Test Linked Accounts. You can generate a Test Access Key in the API Keys section of the dashboard:

If you want to convert a test linked account to production, you can select the account, navigate to the Settings page, and select "Convert to Production Linked Account"

Best used as you release your integrations to real users. Data syncs automatically, representing a live connection to your customers' systems! These accounts will count toward billing.

You can create Production Linked Accounts via Magic Link in the Merge Dashboard. On the Linked Accounts page, click Production Linked Accounts at the top. Now hit "Create Production Linked Account". Fill out the form, and you'll be given a URL you can use to open Merge Link in your browser. You can learn more about Magic Link here.

Using a Production Access Key once you have Merge Link embedded (learn more) will result in linked accounts being automatically created as Production Linked Accounts. You can generate a Production Access Key in the API Keys section of the dashboard: